Earth's blackbox - is this the end?
from The Wild Bits Show
This week on The Wild Bits Show, we confront the chilling possibility of our planet’s demise with the unveiling of “Earth’s Black Box,” a monumental device in Tasmania designed to record humanity’s trajectory towards climate catastrophe. But is this a testament to our actions or a final epitaph? We also explore the latest El Niño crisis, the unexpected legal rights granted to bees in Peru, and how AI is becoming our unlikely ally against marine wildlife smuggling. Plus, a village’s heartwarming (but rare) coexistence with baboons, the ecological impact of a popular Italian dish, and the crucial role of community-led conservation for elusive marble cats. Join us as we navigate the complex tapestry of our planet’s challenges and the glimmers of hope that persist.
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- 0:00 Chapters
- 0:09 Intro
- 2:30 Apocalypse when? ‘Earth’s Black Box’ to be installed in remote Tasmanian airfield - https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/18/earth-black-box-clima…
- 12:56 Can this famously gorgeous pit viper save the cloud forests of Honduras? - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/jade-palm-pit-viper-thalassinus-ho…
- 22:50 As human Ebola cases climb in DRC, critically endangered gorillas are at risk - https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/as-human-ebola-cases-climb-in-drc-critically-e…
- 29:25 El Nino is here and scientists fear it'll be big, bad and costly with heat, floods, droughts, fires - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/el-ni…
- 47:36 In South Africa, a village learns to live with baboons — but it may be the exception - https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/in-south-africa-a-village-learns-to-liv…
- 1:00:08 Stingless bees in Peru become the first insects with legal rights. Will it happen globally? - https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/stingless-bees-in-…
- 1:05:44 ‘Thinking how traffickers think’: Study uses AI to detect marine wildlife smuggling - https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/thinking-how-traffickers-think-study-use…
- 1:14:32 Why you may see more black bears this summer - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/black-bear-summer-activity-safety/
- 1:22:20 Community-led initiatives safeguard marbled cats in northeast India - https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/community-led-initiatives-safeguard-marble…
- 1:31:52 How a popular spaghetti dish is threatening Italy’s marine ecosystem - https://news.mongabay.com/2026/06/how-a-popular-spaghetti-dish-is-threatening-italys-mari…
- 1:37:08 Lawmakers fight to stop the Trump administration's dismantling of a $386M ocean observatory project - https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/lawmakers-…
- 1:41:04 Outro
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